


Just A Friend

by AlexaNDYE



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-14 11:16:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3408584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexaNDYE/pseuds/AlexaNDYE
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some old fashion High School troubles between friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just A Friend

**Author's Note:**

> A BIG HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY TO IRINA (letsgetdowney)! It seems like birthday present fics are becoming a tradition now.

[Middle School]

“This is Virginia Potts, and starting today, she will be your new classmate.” The teacher announced to the homeroom class.

Virginia smiled shyly at the class and took her seat in the back. Tony sat next to her and watched her as she sat down. The teacher sat at his desk while all the other students began to talk to each other. Pepper looked around with befuddlement and wasn’t quite sure what was going on at the moment.

“They’re waiting for the announcements to start.” Tony said. Pepper looked to her left and saw him. “Once announcements are over, the teacher passes out anything he needs to pass out, and then class starts. I’m Tony, by the way.”

Pepper smiled when he did. “Pepper.” In her eyes, Tony looked… normal. He didn’t look popular, he didn’t look like a _complete_ asshole, and he looked friendly.

“Pepper?”

“It’s… uh… it’s a name that kind of stuck at my old school. Freckles, I guess.” She explained.

Tony saw the freckles along her arms and cheeks. “Ah. I like it. It’s a nice nickname.”

“Yeah?” Pepper grinned.

Tony smiled warmly at her. “Yeah.”

Something about her made him happy. Maybe it was her smile, or maybe it was her mannerisms. He wasn’t quite sure. Pepper felt nervous that morning; she wasn’t sure if people would accept her or make fun of her, and she was afraid she wouldn’t make any friends at the start. She’s glad she at least made human contact with another person, but she was afraid it wouldn’t last and was only for a moment.

The forty-five minutes passed slowly. As Pepper began to pack her backpack, Tony came up to her.

“If you’re not doing anything during brunch, I can show you around a bit.” He said with his hands in his pockets and his backpack on.

Pepper looked like she just hit the jackpot. “Really? Uh—I guess I’m not doing anything.”

“I can show you where your other classes are if you don’t know yet.” He offered with a charming smile.

“You don’t have other things to do?”

He shook her head. “I usually get a snack, but I need to lose a few anyways.” He patted his stomach.

Pepper zipped up her backpack and slung it on her shoulders. “Mm, I guess you’re right.” She took out the piece of paper that held her schedule from her back pocket and handed it to him.

He frowned. “Hey, you’re supposed to say ‘no you don’t. You look fine’.”

Pepper chuckled as she exited the classroom. “C’mon. We only have fifteen minutes.”

Tony showed her around the campus, going to all the wings of the school. He explained how there’s a wing for each subject and if she has math, science, history, etc, then that room would be in the designated wings, which includes homerooms.

He showed her where the cafeteria was and the locations of the small snack cart vendors. He told her what was good and what was bad. He showed her the spots where the popular kids hang out, and explained that everyone mostly scattered about and just walked around.

He showed her where her next class was at, and surprisingly, it was the same class that he had. “Looks like we have a few classes together.”

“That’s good.” She blew a sigh of relief. “At least I won’t be a loner for the duration of the day.”

He chuckled. “It’s okay. You’re always invited to hang out with me if you want to.”

“You know,” She crossed her arms at him. “I kind of pegged you as the cool, popular guy.”

His jaw dropped. “And what makes you think I’m not cool and popular!?” She chuckled and walked off to the next room on the list. “Hey, Pep, get back here! I’m showing you around. You could at least be nice to me!” He trailed after her with a small smirk on his face.

He got to the last room and showed her the fastest way to get to it, since the class before it was across campus. As he was showing her the route on the small paper campus map, he heard a voice in the distance.

“Hey, Tony!”

When Tony looked around, he saw Aldrich Killian. He was one of the popular guys, but he was pretty chill with Tony, on account of all the studying they did together for their last math class. This year, they were placed in the same math group, but with separate teachers.

“Oh, hey, Aldrich.”

Aldrich stopped when he saw the whisk of orange hair and splattered freckles. “Oh—Hi.”

“Hi,” Pepper smiled. In her eyes, Aldrich was just what she figured a handsome, popular guy at school would look like. His hair was jelled back in a handsome fashion, unlike Tony’s that was kind of floppy and flat, even though she thought it was cute.

He held out his hand at the cute girl. “Aldrich.”

“Pepper.” She shook his hand.

“Tony,” Aldrich looked up at him. “You didn’t tell me you were friends with a cute girl.”

Tony glared at him. “She’s new here. She’s in my homeroom. I wanted to show her around campus.”

Aldrich smiled lovingly at Pepper, all while she tried not to blush. Something about Aldrich made Pepper nervous and a little shyer than she’d like to be.

“You should’ve told me. I would’ve introduced her to some of the guys and girls.” Aldrich looked back at Pepper. “Doing anything for lunch?”

Pepper shrugged. “Tony and I were going to eat at the cafeteria.” Tony knew what Aldrich was doing, and he wasn’t really mad about it. Tony liked Pepper, but they were merely friends. It wasn’t like he had claimed her—and even thinking of it that way gave him a bad taste in his mouth.

“Well, we’re all going off campus to get some food at the Carl’s Jr down the street. You’re welcome to join us if you want.” Aldrich tried to flash her that winning smile of his, one that made Tony roll his eyes.

Pepper looked over at Tony and saw the small frown on his face.

“It’s okay. If you want to, I don’t mind.” He told her. Deep down, he didn’t care that much, but he hated how Aldrich had to butt in and make it seem like his offer wasn’t up to par with his own, as if Aldrich’s popularity alone meant that he was better than him.

“You know, I think I’ll eat lunch with Tony today.” She looked at Tony. “I kind of owe you one for showing me around.” Tony flashed a sincere smile.

Aldrich wasn’t impressed. “Well, suit yourself. Maybe next time, then?”

“Of course.” Pepper nodded. Aldrich left just before the bell rang.

“You didn’t have to.” Tony muttered, as they both walked to their math class.

“It would be rude of me to ditch you when you’ve taken the time to show me around.”

“Mm,” He thought about it. “You’re right. It would’ve been.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and nudged him in the ribs, causing him to lean to the other side and almost lose his balance.

“Hey!” He shoulder bumped her back, and they continued to do this a couple more times, and added in some laughing and giggling, until they got to their class.

\--

Pepper settled into the school really well. She eventually took up Aldrich on that offer and got to know some of the other popular boys and girls. They all welcomed her with open arms and even insisted on dating Aldrich, telling her multiple times that he was currently single.

Pepper, of course, didn’t pay much attention to it. She liked Aldrich but she knew nothing about him, and dating someone purely because he was popular wasn’t something she condoned.

Tony and Pepper continued to joke around in class, pass each other weird notes, and hang out at brunch. He’d see her most of the time during lunch unless Aldrich pulled her away from him, or managed to ask her to join him for lunch beforehand.

Tony let her do whatever she wanted. She wasn’t tied to him, nor did she owe him any more lunches. If she wanted to eat with someone else, then that was her choice. He always made it clear to her that if she wanted to eat with other people, she didn’t need his permission.

She chuckled, and almost broke out into laughter, because he made it sound as if they were dating. He blushed and looked away, and made it clear that they weren’t. Her head wrapped around the thought; it didn’t rub her the wrong way, nor did it leave an impression. She was… kind of okay about it.

The more she and Tony hung out, the more they grew on each other. Towards the end of the year, they were going to each other’s houses, playing video games and whatnot, seeing movies together, or just hanging out. It was purely platonic.

Pepper went to a couple dances with Aldrich during the year. Tony didn’t mind.

“Are you going to go to the last dance of the year?” Pepper asked Tony as they ate lunch together.

Tony picked at his food. He mumbled something earlier how he should’ve chosen the pizza instead of the pasta. He took a few fries from Pepper’s plate and munched on those instead.

He shrugged at her question.

“You’re not?” She frowned.

“I’m not much of a dancer.” He said, taking another fry. Pepper tried to swat his hand away.

“You don’t have to be a dancer, Tony. You should go. We could hang out and be horrible dancers together.” She said, stealing some of his pasta.

“I thought you were going with Aldrich.” He mumbled in disappointment.

She eyed him. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hang out at the dance together.” He shrugged. “I thought you and Aldrich were friends.”

“So we’ve studied together before. It doesn’t necessarily make us friends.” Tony wasn’t mad, but he was upset. He’s seen Aldrich take women away from other guys before, and he knew what Aldrich was trying to do. He just didn’t want to see it happen.

Pepper frowned at his lack of emotion. “Well, he’s said nothing but good things about you.”

“Awesome.” Tony muttered emotionlessly.

She was fed up with him. “Why are you always such an asshole, Tony?”

“What do you mean?” Tony shot her a look. “I’ve known him longer than you have—since the first grade. You don’t know half the shit he pulls!”

“Then tell me, Tony.” Anger touched her voice. “Tell me all of the ‘shit he pulls’ and then maybe I’ll let you off the hook for your half-assed and sour attitude.”

“Half-ass—“ He took her fries and his pasta. “Whatever. Do whatever you want with him. I don’t fucking care.” He grabbed his backpack and walked off.

“Hey, my fries!” She yelled as he walked away. She let him go as the burning urge to hit him grew and grew. They both knew it wasn’t a fight; they just needed a few hours away from each other to cool down. Deep down, Tony was angry; he was torn between telling her about Aldrich and not telling her.

It was none of his business to ruin things for them. If Pepper liked Aldrich and wanted to date him, then he’d look like the bad guy. He just didn’t want to see Pepper get hurt.

\--

Tony opened the front door to his house and saw Pepper standing in front of him.

“Hey,” Pepper greeted him.

“Hey.”

They were supposed to study for a math exam.

He opened the door for her and let her in.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.” She apologized. “I shouldn’t have said those things to you. And you’re right, you two have known each other longer than I have known him…”

“It’s okay, Pep.” He held her by her shoulders and guided her to his room. “Don’t worry about it. I should be apologizing too.” He paused. “But I won’t because you called me an asshole.”

“Hey, you stole my fries. So I should at least get one ‘sorry’.” She playfully nudged him in the ribs.

“They were delicious by the way.” He teased as he grabbed his math book out of his backpack.

She rolled her eyes and focused on studying. A few snack breaks and hundreds of practice problems later, he brought up the very same subject. They were laying on his bed, taking a break from studying, and were staring up at the ceiling.

“Do you like Aldrich?” Tony casually asked.

She turned to him. “What do you mean?”

“Like… do you want to date him?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “He’s cute and a nice guy. Not really making a decision yet. Why?”

Tony brought his hands behind his head. “No reason.”

“Is someone jealous?” She teased.

He glared at her. “I’m not.”

“Uh huh.”

“We’re just friends. Who you want to date is none of my business.” He looked the other way.

She sat up and scooted closer to him. “Just friends?” She sounded a little hurt.

He turned his head and saw her staring down at him. “What?”

“So, that time I had to apply sunburn ointment on your butt only makes me a ‘friend’?”

“Hey! I thought we said we’d never speak of that again!” He sat up to glare at her again. “Just because you saw my butt doesn’t mean we’re best friends.”

Pepper smirked. “Right, because best friends wouldn’t tell other people about a certain someone’s butt mark.”

“It’s a birthmark that so happens to be on my butt.” He mumbled and frowned in displeasure.

She chuckled at the result of her teasing and tilted her head to the side, admiring the moment they were having. “You know, of all of the friends I have, I’m glad you were my first.”

“Why, because you can’t tease them as much?”

“No,” She smirked. “Because I’m not as close with them as I am with you.”

“Now you’re just being weird.” He said flatly. Pepper shook her head and wrapped her arms around him to hug him. He flinched and winced. “And now you’re giving me cooties.” He joked.

“Shut up, Stark.”

He smiled warmly and hugged her back. Truth be told, he’s the first person she went to when she needed someone to talk to, and every single time, he’d crack a joke or two just to see her smile. He was a great listener only when he felt like it, but he’s mentioned numerous times that he liked it when she smiled. She figured it was just his way of telling her everything was going to be okay.

Tony didn’t go to the dance, and Pepper and Aldrich went together. Nothing really happened. She danced with him; some slow and some fast, and some with other people. She had a good time, but she hoped Tony would go, too.

**[High School – Freshman year]**

They graduated Middle School and moved onto High School. High Schools worked by district, so they were classmates with the same people, and at least a hundred more new faces.

Pepper and Tony were in the same home room Freshman and Sophomore year. They were in the same math and science class both years. Pepper and Aldrich had history and P.E together during Sophomore year, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Pepper and Tony were still the same; their relationship was still platonic and everyone knew how close they were. Aldrich flirted here and there with Pepper, but it was nothing unusual.

The rocks starting falling when Pepper persuaded Tony to go to the first dance during Freshman year. He was unsure about it at first but went anyways. It was nice and he danced with Pepper a few times, until Aldrich butted in.

He didn’t see Pepper after that. He didn’t mention his disappointment, as the rest of the evening was an upset.

The same thing happened during the next dance, and at one point, Tony butted in and asked Pepper for a slow dance. Aldrich happily gave up his spot, but purposefully bumped into Tony’s shoulder on the way out. They glared at each other, but Tony’s attention was elsewhere when he felt Pepper’s hand on his.

The slow dance was really nice and Tony enjoyed it. What he didn’t expect was her head on his chest. He blushed the moment he felt her hot breath against the underside of his chin and almost fumbled on the spot.

“Don’t worry, you’re doing fine.” She said as she guided him.

He couldn’t exactly explain how he was feeling as warmth spread throughout the pit of his stomach. They were just friends—best friends, right?

**[Sophomore year]**

Sadie Hawkins came around, and of course, Pepper asked Aldrich to the dance, but somewhere, deep down, Tony was disappointed she didn’t ask him. Why would she though? They were friends.

At the end of that day, Tony flopped on his bed and let out a groan. His feelings were starting to mix and at that point, he didn’t know if he liked her that way or not. He did—but then he didn’t—he didn’t know. There was an ongoing battle in his mind and it made him feel ill. He didn’t like it when he didn’t know what he wanted.

One day, Aldrich came out of nowhere and talked to Tony. Tony expected it; he knew Aldrich would talk to him sooner or later. It would’ve been unusual if he didn’t.

“Do you like Pepper?”

“She’s a friend.” Tony explained.

“Good.” Aldrich said; his voice had him seem like he was trying to be intimidating. “Stay away from her then.”

“What the fuck do you mean by that? She’s _my friend_.”

“Stop acting like you want her, Tony. We both know she’s not going to look at you like that.”

Tony’s fists balled in anger. “You act as if she’s something you win at a carnival.”

“Isn’t she?” Aldrich taunted him. “She’s a girl. They come and go.”

“What the fuck did you say?” Tony growled at him, reading to sock him in the face.

“Supply and demand. There’s a supply and I have demands. Let me put it in words that you’ll understand. Pepper is mine. You had your chance, and you blew it, so stop acting like your time hasn’t expired.”

Tony grabbed him by the collar. “Listen here, Aldrich. Girls aren’t toys. You can’t just play with them and throw them away when you don’t want them.”

“I did that to Maya and Betty.” Tony’s anger boiled at his words. “Didn’t I?” Aldrich was taunting him.

“Don’t you _dare_ fucking hurt her, I swear to god, I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” Aldrich smirked. “She actually wants to date me. You, on the other hand? You’re just her friend, thrown to the side. She’ll never like you.”

Tony shoved him back. “You stay the fuck away from her.”

“You don’t control me, Tony.”

Aldrich left with a small smirk on his face, and every single one of his words made Tony angry. He never wanted to punch someone in the face so hard until now.

**[Junior year]**

Pepper was over Tony’s place to study for a Biology exam when he decided to tell her about Aldrich. He couldn’t stand by and watch her get hurt. It would destroy him from the inside out if he did.

“Hey, about Aldrich…” Tony began.

“Oh, speaking of him, did you hear?” She grinned widely and happily. “He asked me to Junior prom.”

Tony’s eyes shot open. “He did?”

“Yeah.”

“You said no, right?”

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows at him. “Why would I do that?”

“Because—“ Tony could feel his anger boil again. “Pepper, I need to tell you something… about Aldrich.”

“Not this again…” Pepper sighed.

“No, please, listen to me. Aldrich will throw you away.”

“Excuse me?” Pepper glared at him.

“He plays with your mind. He keeps pretending he’s someone he’s not and the more you lean towards him, the more you’ll fall for it.”

She shook her head and began to pack her things. She didn’t need to hear it—she didn’t want to hear it.

“Pepper, why won’t you listen to me? He’s manipulative! He did the same thing to Maya and Betty. He acts like he likes you and then when you show the same feelings, he throws you away like you’re nothing. I’m just trying to watch out for you!”

“You’re so full of shit, Tony.” Pepper muttered.

“What?”

“Ever since I met Aldrich, you’ve talked crap about him, even when I’ve seen first hand how nice he is. He sees you as a friend, Tony, and all you’ve done is act like an asshole.”

“That’s how he gets you!” He tried to tell her. “Why aren’t you listening to me?”

“Because I like him, Tony.” She snapped at him. “I actually like him, and he likes me.”

“So, what am I? The guy on the side that just listens to your problems?”

“You’re a friend.”

“Right.” Tony folded his arms across his chest. “I’m just a friend. I’m not the guy you needed at 2 am because your dad came home drunk. I’m not the guy that picked you up from the train station because you forgot to ask your mom for a ride home. I’m not the guy that took you to that sappy movie no one else wanted to see with you. I’m definitely not the guy that is trying to protect _you_ from a manipulative asshole that only sees you as a trophy!”

Tears threatened to escape the corner of her eyes. “I’m still going to the prom with him, Tony. Regardless of whatever bullshit you have to spew.” She zipped up her backpack and hung it off her shoulder.

“So, you’re not going to listen to your best friend and go to prom with a down right dick.”

Pepper shook her head at him. “It’s better than going to prom with you.” And with that, she left.

Her words stung him and he even felt like there was a pang in his heart. It hurt him. It really did. He wanted to forget her words, but it was only more proof to the notion that she would never be interested in being more than just friends with him.

He didn’t talk to her after that.

Pepper had a great time at Junior prom with Aldrich and the rest of their friends, while Tony stayed at home and played video games with some of his friends that didn’t go to prom either.

The Monday after prom, Tony and Pepper didn’t speak to each other. Pepper was mad at him for saying all that stuff about Aldrich, while Tony was mad at her for what she said to him. In Aldrich’s mind, everything was falling into place. He taunted Tony a couple times, but Tony tried to pay no mind to him.

Tony’s friendship with Pepper was slowly dissolving. Neither one of them denied it. When Pepper was asked about Tony, she shrugged and said nothing more.

This went on for the entire rest of the Junior year.

He tried to warn her, he tried to protect her, but she shot him down in the worst possible way. It always hurt to see her, to be reminded of what she said to him, but he had to let that go. The last thing he wanted on his mind were girls; he needed to focus on SATs and College applications, and to him, it was the perfect distraction.

**[Senior year]**

Pepper and Aldrich began dating after Junior Prom, and continued dating towards the beginning of their senior year. It was only when she caught Aldrich flirting, more than once, with one of the newer girls when she decided to talk to him about it.

She told him her concerns and asked him why he was flirting with other girls. He tried to tell her he was only being friendly and insisted that she was the only girl he wanted. After a kiss and a hug, they made up, and Pepper apologized for how she was acting. He replied, saying he understood how she was acting and that he wouldn’t put it against her.

Pepper kept an eye on him, of course, and for a while, he stopped flirting. It was only until she and Aldrich went to a party together did she catch him in the act, but this time it wasn’t only flirting. He was having sex with the same girl he was flirting with, against the wall in the garage.

After throwing a can of soup at Aldrich and spewing a ton of curse words, Pepper left the party. When she went home, her dad was drunk and out of control. Her mom wasn’t home, thank god, but she couldn’t stay at home, not while she was on the brink of bursting into tears and at risk to get hurt during her dad’s drunken rage.

“Oh, hello.” Maria Stark answered the door.

Pepper stood there with red eyes and tried tears. “Hi, Mrs. Stark. Is Tony home?”

“Yes,” She smiled warmly. “He should be upstairs in his room. Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Pepper lied and tried to nod.

“I haven’t see you around in a while.” Maria invited Pepper in and closed the door behind her.

“Yeah… I’ve been busy lately.”

“Mm.” Maria was a teenager once, so she knew what was going on. “Want anything to drink?”

“No thanks.” Pepper tried to hurry up to Tony’s room before the tears escaped.

Tony was laying on his bed with his face stuffed in a fat SAT book when he heard his door open. He looked over and saw Pepper; tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked like she just got hit by a truck.

“Don’t say it.” She muttered as she burst into tears.

He sat up, befuddled. “What happened?”

“Just don’t… don’t say you told me so.” She sat next to him and cried into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and tried to comfort her as best as he could. He held her close and rubbed her arm in reassurance. He laid them down and let her cry on his chest. She didn’t tell him what happened until five minutes later when she finally calmed down.

“I caught him having sex with Samantha and then when I got home, my dad was… I just couldn’t stay there. I’m sorry.” She tried to wipe away the tears. “I have no right to come to you… Why didn’t I listen to you, Tony?”

“Because I’m just a friend.”

The words stung her. “I—I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorr—“

“Hey,” he cupped her cheek and wiped away the tears with his thumb. “We all make mistakes. You were thinking with your heart.”

“But you’re my best friend. I should’ve listened to you.” She leaned into his hand.

“Yeah, you should’ve.” He teased. “But things happen, Pepper. You liked him, so you didn’t want anything to get in the way of that.”

She tried to smile. “You’re always looking out for me… being there when no one else would.”

“It’s what best friends do, right?” He smiled warmly, just as he lowered his hand from her cheek. She held onto it, though, and she squeezed it. His hand was warm and so gentle, far different from Aldrich’s.

“Thank you, Tony.” She leaned into him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him.

“I’ll always be there for you, Pep.” He kissed the top of her head and hugged her back. “Always.”

Before they knew it, they were kissing. Her lips were pressed against his, soft and warm, and so eager. He held her, and rolled themselves onto their side, keeping her warm and safe. His arms were wrapped around her, massaging her waist, easing her into the kiss and helping her relax against his body.

He read her body language and made sure she didn’t treat it like a rebound. She wasn’t pushing for it, or forcing him into it.

They both began to laugh when they had to pull away for oxygen. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and kept an arm around his waist. He laughed with her as he had his arms around her waist.

“We’re a mess.” He noted.

“I don’t know about you, but I kind of like this, although I don’t know if I can be in a relationship with a guy that steals my French fries.”

He rolled his eyes. “That was once.”

“Plus five.”

“Six times.” He corrected himself.

She rubbed circles into his stomach. “For a guy that eats a lot, you sure don’t look like it.”

“Hey.” He frowned.

She laughed and kissed his cheek, feeling much better than before.

They spent the rest of the night talking, kissing, and cuddling. They mostly talked about the relationship, where they wanted things to go, and what they expected out of it. They decided, no matter what, that they’d try the relationship out. If anything were to happen, they promised to stay friends.

After that, Tony promised he’d get back at Aldrich for what he did to Pepper. He tried to be mature about it, but screw that. Maturity was thrown out the window. He managed to shred some laxatives in his lunch when his back was turned, and the face he made when he ran to the bathroom was forever engraved in their minds.

They went to Senior prom together and had a great time with their friends. They enjoyed dancing together and shared a few intimate slow dances. Towards the end of the prom, the two left the event a few minutes early to grab a burger at In-n-Out. As he promised before, he bought her six order of fries, but that didn’t keep him from stealing some of them.

“Hey, those are my fries!”

“But, Honey…”

“Stop calling me, Honey. It sounds weird.”

“But you’re my girlfriend.”

“So?”

“Honey Pott. Hehe, get it?”

“You’re so funny, Tony,” She rolled her eyes.

“I love you, too.”


End file.
